Barclays Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) Stock Price

Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) had its price target reduced by equities research analysts at Barclays from $351.00 to $347.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Barclays‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 17.52% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Molina Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $414.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Molina Healthcare in a report on Monday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $364.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Molina Healthcare from $340.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Guggenheim started coverage on shares of Molina Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Molina Healthcare from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $364.21.

Molina Healthcare Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:MOH opened at $295.28 on Monday. Molina Healthcare has a 1 year low of $262.32 and a 1 year high of $365.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.57. The business’s 50-day moving average is $318.74 and its 200 day moving average is $307.31.

Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $6.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.96 by $0.12. Molina Healthcare had a return on equity of 28.13% and a net margin of 2.90%. The firm had revenue of $11.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.86 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.73 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Molina Healthcare will post 24.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Molina Healthcare

In other news, CEO Joseph M. Zubretsky sold 87,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.06, for a total value of $28,005,250.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 257,715 shares in the company, valued at approximately $82,484,262.90. This trade represents a 25.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard M. Schapiro sold 669 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.50, for a total value of $214,414.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,244 shares in the company, valued at $3,603,702. This represents a 5.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Molina Healthcare by 123.9% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $100,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Molina Healthcare in the fourth quarter valued at about $452,000. Entropy Technologies LP boosted its holdings in Molina Healthcare by 58.1% in the 4th quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 4,594 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,337,000 after purchasing an additional 1,688 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Molina Healthcare during the 4th quarter worth $10,725,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in Molina Healthcare by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,993 shares of the company’s stock worth $580,000 after buying an additional 364 shares in the last quarter. 98.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Molina Healthcare Company Profile

Molina Healthcare, Inc provides managed healthcare services to low-income families and individuals under the Medicaid and Medicare programs and through the state insurance marketplaces. It operates in four segments: Medicaid, Medicare, Marketplace, and Other. The company served in across 19 states. The company was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Long Beach, California.